Chinese Politburo stresses saving lives first in quake relief

BEIJING,—Saving lives should be taken as the top priority during the quake relief after nearly 15,000 confirmed dead, a high profile meeting of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee was told Wednesday.
The meeting of the Political Bureau Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee, presided over by President Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, urged more army, armed police, firemen and special policemen, as well as medical personnel be rushed to the quake-hit areas.
The meeting called on various government departments to take measures to provide appropriate accommodations to survivors, ensuring that they are well fed, clad and sheltered.
“Attention should be paid to maintain social stability,” the meeting was told. It presses resumption of transportation, electricity, communication and water supply as soon as possible.
A strong quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale jolted Wenchuan County in northwest part of Sichuan Province at 2:28 p.m. on Monday. The death toll tallied 14,463 by 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday in Sichuan. Another 14,051 were missing, 25,788 buried in debris, and 64,746 injured.
Tens of thousands of army personnel and armed police have arrived at or are approaching the epicenter to carry out disaster relief work. As of 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, emergency relief teams sent by the China Seismological Bureau (CSB) and 13 provinces and municipalities had saved 84 survivors in Sichuan.
Disaster relief goods have been airdropped to major quake-hit areas including Wenchuan County and Mianzhu City.
Public donations in both cash and goods to the quake-hit areas had risen to 877 million yuan (125 million U.S. dollars) as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, updating a previous figure of 603 million yuan, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Cranes and bulldozers are removing rocks and floor slabs; rescuers in orange outfits are nosing about the rubble for the slightest signs of life; groans are heard occasionally from under the ruins.
The groans are regarded as good tidings two days after a six-storey school building collapsed in Monday’s earthquake and buried at least 1,000 students at Beichuan Middle School in Beichuan County of southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
Dozens were saved on Wednesday as rescue work was beefed up by rescuers from Sichuan, Chongqing, Shaanxi and Shenyang. Most of the newly found survivors were injured and needed further treatment in hospital. Up to 5,000 people were said to be dead in the mountainous county with about 20,000 people, about 160 kilometers northeast of the epicenter Wenchuan.
The quake toppled 80 percent of the houses in the county seat and many survivors have to shelter in tents.
Heavy rain on Tuesday has brought down temperatures and left the citizens in dire needs of quilts, mattresses and sheets.
Luo Ning, aged 12, said she slept in a tent with her grandfather and several villagers. “The ground was damp and all our clothes were soaked. We could only doze off sitting on the ground, back to back, to keep each other warm.”
In the worst earthquake to hit China in three decades, the Chinese have demonstrated love, courage and perseverance - qualities which it is hoped will help them pull through this disaster.

—Xinhua